What would be a good practice to do to improve listening skills

I would like to hear some good listening options for learning Japanese. Preferably for someone on N5 or N4.

It doesn’t have to be anything to serious. It could be something you enjoy while eating or something. Just something to improve your listening skills.

What would be some good anime, podcast or audio books that are good for improving listening skills?

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I like NHK News Web Easy, because the stories are short, and you can choose to listen to each story and then follow up by reading the story, with or without furigana on the kanji.

There are some downsides, though, such as a number of the stories being somewhat dry or containing obscure vocabulary such as the names of Japanese government ministries and departments, which you’re unlikely to need to know unless you’re in Japan (or unless you want to view news broadcasts).

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For podcasts, try the Master List of Japanese Learning Podcasts. For youtube, the Comprehensible Japanese N5 playlist is another option.

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Anything with slice of life elements where people have normal conversations, like shopping, talking to friends, etc. Stuff set in school.

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Not an anime but the show Sweet Home on Netflix, turn on Japanese dubbing.

Most of the dialogue is literally “run!” “help me!” “hide!” etc…not too difficult

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Would you happen to have a good recommendation?

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Here you go. The lower the level, the easier it should be for language learners.

Also, @trunklayer’s recommendation for a great beginner podcast is spot on. I don’t know how good your listening is; if you listen to the first episode and think “this is boring and too easy”, don’t worry, the podcast gets progressively harder. Just jump forward a few episodes.

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+1 Pokemon Concierge, Totoro, One Week Friends, My Clueless First Friend, Takagi-san, Akebi-chan, Kubo-san, Kiki, Ponyo, Tomo-chan, Tsurezure Children, Hananoi-kun, Blue Box, Gakkou Gurashi, Amaama to Inazuma, Belle, Anohana, Toradora, Sailor Moon, Sakurasou no Pet na Kanojo, Aho Girl, Erased, Avatar.

Not an anime, but Old Enough.

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Speaking of YouTube, I made a post earlier, recommending a channel that doesn’t get mentioned enough, and it might be useful to you. It’s a channel where the creator breaks down the grammar from anime and manga. Check out https://www.youtube.com/@iroironanihongo — it’s great if you’re around N5-N4 level!